


New School

by ShipperOfDreams



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Because I have no idea where I'm going with this, F/M, I'm probably Going To Update Tags Every Chapter, Rey Needs A Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:55:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24919435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShipperOfDreams/pseuds/ShipperOfDreams
Summary: Rey is nervous about going to a new, private school where she knows literally no one. But when she runs into a certain tall, dark haired boy, things suddenly don't seem too bad.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my first fic that I've posted on here, so it may not be the best, but I still hope you enjoy it. Criticisms and suggestions for what I can do better are totally welcome! Anyways, this first chapter is very heavy with backstory, but Rey and Ben will meet next chapter, I promise!

Rey looked in the mirror as she straightened out her collar. One of the only things she hated about her new school was how uncomfortable the uniforms were. And that she would have to be away from her mother 5 days a week. And that she was entering in her Sophomore year, where everyone already knew each other. Ok, maybe she hated a lot about her new school.

Usually, students were accepted to Resistance High at the beginning of their freshman year, but Rey hadn’t passed the entrance exams. Not that she could have afforded to go anyways.

But after she won first place in the Statewide science fair, Resistance High allowed her to retake the exams, which she passed with flying colors. Apparently the school really liked her newly-designed power converters at the science fair, because they gave her a scholarship for free tuition too.

“Rey,” Maz called from downstairs, “I’m not going to let you head off to that new school without a proper breakfast. Who knows what they’ll feed you there. So hurry up and get down here!”

Rey trudged down the stairs into the kitchen, still tired from staying up late to pack. Luckily, she didn’t have any classes today; it was more of a move-in day. She sat at the counter, where a plate of hash browns, bacon, and fruit was waiting for her. While Maz didn’t have much money, she always made sure to make a relatively elaborate breakfast every morning. Maz was a firm believer that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. 

Maz was a short, middle aged woman who contained more love in her heart then Rey thought existed in the whole galaxy. Rey only met Maz about 3 years ago, when she was 13. Before then, Rey had been in and out of Foster homes. None of her previous “families” really seemed to be a good fit. While she was placed in one or two abusive households, most of them just weren’t ready for the responsibilities that came with raising a foster kid, and Rey didn’t really blame them. She got into a lot of fights, she had what they called “an attitude,” and she just wasn’t what they expected.

But Rey’s life changed when Maz adopted her, because Maz actually accepted her. She didn’t view Rey as an outsider. Maz had no other family (she had gotten divorced a few years before they met, if Rey remembered correctly) but was so quick to make Rey feel at home. She talked to her about her interests, school, and all the usual stuff, but she also wasn’t afraid to talk about Rey’s past with her. Maz made Rey feel normal about her history, like less of a freak. 

Rey would never have considered Resistance High if Maz hadn’t intercepted the letter first. Rey didn’t want to be separated from Maz and all of her friends at Jakku High. But Maz would never allow Rey to pass up an opportunity like this. While she would have to live in the dorms during the school week, Maz insisted that at Resistance High she would get a much better education than she ever would at Jakku High. And deep down, Rey knew Maz was right. So she agreed to go.

“Rey?” Coming out of her trance, Rey smiled at her mother. 

“Sorry, I just zoned out for a minute,” Rey said while shoveling food into her mouth.

“Rey, slow down, I don’t want you to choke on your first day.” Rey hadn’t even realized how fast she was eating, so she slowed down while Maz continued to talk. “Please don’t be nervous, Rey. I know you’ll do great at this new school.” Of course Maz knew Rey’s telltale signs of being nervous: zoning out and eating quickly.

“But what if I miss you or my friends back at Jakku? I’ll be stuck all the way across the city, all alone.”

“Rey, sweetheart, you won’t be alone. You’ll make plenty of friends. And if you hate it that much, I’ll come give you a big hug.” Maz said, pulling Rey into a tight hug from behind.

“You don’t even have a car, Mom. How are you gonna get all the way down town?”

Maz released Rey from her tight grip. “I’ll get Mr. Wexley from next door to give me a ride. Speaking of which, he’s coming with his truck to help you take all of your things to school, so you don’t have to deal with them on the subway. So you better finish eating. You don’t want to be late on your first day.”

At that moment Rey felt sick to her stomach. The repeated reminder that she was leaving everything she knew had her stomach in knots. She walked up stairs. Her legs suddenly felt weak. She zipped up her last bag as the doorbell rang. She knew Snap Wexley was waiting, so she stood up with her bags, and muttered to herself “It’ll be fine, even if I’m all alone.” Somehow, she couldn’t convince herself that was true, but she went downstairs anyways.

Rey dragged her bags downstairs while Mr. Wexley talked with Maz. Snap greeted her and took her bags and began loading them into his beat up, blue pickup truck. Rey turned back to her mother, and she suddenly felt tears rolling down her cheek. She started crying as she hugged Maz tightly. “I’m going to miss you mama,” Rey said between sobs.

“Rey, I have a present before you go.” She walked back into the kitchen while Rey started to protest. 

“Mom, you really didn’t have to-” Maz cut her off by thrusting a box into her hands. Rey slowly peeled back the wrapping paper and saw that it was a smart phone. It was an older model, but even Maz didn’t have one. This was a luxury that they definitely couldn’t afford.

“Mom, this money should have gone to something else, like food or-” Maz one again cut her off, and said “Trust me, this is more of a gift to me. I want you to call me during the week. Not every day, but I don’t think I’ll be able to go a whole week without hearing your voice.” 

This time, Maz was the one crying,the first time Rey had seen her cry in a long time. She hugged her mother tightly, before Maz wiped her eyes and said “You better go, don’t keep Snap waiting.” 

“I love you, Mama.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, here's another part! Again, constructive criticism is welcomed! Hope you guys enjoy!

The ride to Resistance High with Snap had been awkward to say the least. Rey had obviously been crying, which made Snap a little hesitant to try and start a conversation. Which was fine with Rey, who was too busy trying to pull herself together.

She had put on a little makeup (first impressions are everything, right?), but had fortunately decided to skip mascara. Rey wasn’t really a fan of makeup; she found it uncomfortable, and besides, she’d rather sleep in then wake up early every day to paint her face.

When the old pick-up truck rattled up to the curb in front of Resistance High, Rey felt even more nervous then she was when she left home. The school was absolutely massive. Her old school was just one 2-story building, but this school was the size of a college campus. The building where they had arrived was made almost entirely out of glass, and was at least three stories tall. Rey felt intimidated already, and she hadn’t even gone inside yet. 

Snap had offered to help her with her stuff, but she declined. She didn’t really have that much: just a duffle bag, backpack, and a small cardboard box. She was pretty sure she could handle it. And besides, Snap had already helped her enough by driving her all the way here.

Rey gave her thanks to Snap and headed towards the entrance. Nobody really paid much attention to her, so that was a good start. They probably just assumed that Rey was a Freshman. She did look young for her age.

When she entered the main building (she had heard some other kids calling it The Hub), Rey felt like she could go into shock. This was probably the nicest building she had ever been in. From what she could tell, the first floor of The Hub mainly just had check in and attendance offices, the nurses office, and some conference rooms. But it was decorated like a fucking hotel. Rey looked around at the decorations that were placed in the area: paintings, seating, and plants. Rey couldn’t remember if she had ever seen anything green at Jakku High. Where did they get the money for all this?

Oh, right. All the rich kids’ parents probably donated most of it. She forgot for a second what type of people who went to Resistance High: stuck up, spoiled brats. Rey fondly remembered making fun of these types with her old friends, and now here she was, one of them. Except she never would really fit in. Rey suddenly became self conscious of her tattered backpack and her dirty sneakers. 

She walked over to a desk labeled “Sign In” and set her box down to catch her breath. “Hi, I’m Rey Kanata here to get my room.” 

The woman on the other side of the table didn’t really respond, but she started flipping through the stack of papers in front of her. She finally looked up at Rey, staring at her with beady eyes glaring over her rectangular glasses. “I don’t see a Kanata on here.”

“Oh, I’m a Sophomore, if that helps at all.” Rey lightly bounced her leg, what if they didn’t have her name? What if this was all a mix up and she wouldn’t get to attend classes here? What if-

“Oh, you’re our new Sophomore? Why didn’t you just say so?” The office lady said that a little too loudly for Rey’s liking. She held out a bronze key with a little laminated piece of paper attached with the address. “You’ll be in room 707, over in the Lucas building. That’s pretty far from here, but we have some carts waiting outside that can take you to your dorm so you don’t have to haul your luggage all the way over there.”

The lady waved Rey off, and motioned to the next person in line. “Ok, t-thank you.” She stumbled over her words as the kid behind her nudged her out of the way. No doubt a Freshman.

Rey picked up her box and headed towards the doors. She could see the carts through the window. Rey became lost in thought about what her roommate would be like. But suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted when she ran face first into an unsuspecting student.

She fell to the ground and dropped the cardboard box. Rey looked up to see who she had plowed into, and looked straight into the eyes of one of the best looking guys she had ever seen. For starters, he was absolutely jacked. His muscles made Rey think he was here on an athletic scholarship, even though there were no athletic programs at Resistance High. His black, wavy hair went just a few inches past his ears, and his brown eyes felt like they could see right into her soul.

That’s when she snapped out of her trance. He was staring at her. Shit, he had just said something and she wasn’t even paying attention. “Oh, s-sorry, what did you say?” Nice save Rey she thought, rolling her eyes internally.

“Are you ok?” God, his voice was deep, but smooth. It was gentle. He held out his hand, which Rey took, and he pulled her back up to her feet. She was right, he was strong.

“Yeah, I’m ok,” Rey said, dusting herself off. “Sorry, I wasn’t really paying attention.”

“That’s ok,” he said with a laugh. “I wasn’t really watching where I was going either. But before you run into me again, I’d like to know your name.”

Rey opened her mouth to respond, but her thoughts were sidetracked by the stares of her peers. Oh God, she was already an outsider coming into the school late, and now she just embarrassed herself in front of everybody. She felt heat rise to her cheeks as she began to blush. She turned her attention back to the boy standing in front of her. She had to get out of here.

“Ok, um thanks for helping me, I have to go now.” She spit out the words quickly, took the box from the mystery man and hurried towards the cart. As she began loading her bags, she looked back and saw the dark-haired guy still glancing at her, but he averted his eyes when she caught his stare. Rey hopped into the cart and told the driver where to go, hoping to avoid any more awkwardness on the way to her dorm.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey meets some classmates, including her roommate, and gets accustomed to dorm life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I'm going to try to update it every Saturday from now on.

As the cart sped past the buildings of Resistance High, Rey was amazed that this school was even real. An entire building dedicated to the theatre department? The Jakku theatre classes were stuck in one tiny auditorium that probably hadn’t been cleaned in 30 years. So this new school was definitely an upgrade for Rey.

The campus was covered in green. There were massive maple trees every couple feet, and some small arrangements of colorful flowers were placed along the road. As the cart approached her dorm building, Rey counted the floors. There were at least seven levels. Rey grabbed her belongings, thanked the driver, and started into the building.

When Rey entered the building, she looked back down at the number on her key. “Shit.” she muttered to herself. Of course she was on the top floor. There was no way she could take all of her stuff up there. She began looking around for an elevator. Hell, at this point she wouldn’t be surprised if this school had a bellhop. 

Just as she was about to give up and make the trip up the stairs by herself, she saw a tall, dark skinned boy wearing a leather jacket standing in the hallway. “Hey!” She smiled, and raised a few of her fingers from the box to wave. “Is there like an elevator or something? I’m trying to get all of this to the top floor.” 

The boy looked up at her and said “Nah, there isn’t an elevator, but I can help you carry some of it. My roommate, Poe, has our key, so I can’t get into our room for a while anyways. I’m Finn, by the way.”

Rey smiled. “I’m Rey. I’d shake your hand, but… you know.” She gestured to the duffle bag and box in her hands. 

“Oh, here, let me grab that.” Finn took the box and they started walking up the stairs. “So, Rey,” Finn started. “I don’t remember seeing you around here last year. Are you a freshman?”

“No, I’m a sophomore, but I wasn’t here last year. I just got accepted this year.”

“Oh, that’s weird,” he paused. “ I’ve never heard of that happening. But I’m a sophomore too, so maybe we’ll have some classes together or something.”

“Yeah, that would be pretty cool. What classes do we have to take anyways?”

“I think there’s literature, pre-calculus, biology, and history. And two electives.”

“Wait, there’s electives?” Great, Rey thought. Yet another thing I have to go get figured out.

“Yeah, you get to pick them in a few days. Last year I took shop and child development.”

“Wow, those are like total opposites. What are you taking this year, PE and knitting or something?” 

Finn laughed at that. “Maybe,” he said. “My boyfriend Poe is trying to get me to do PE with him. I don’t know though, I’d rather not sweat everyday.”

“Wait, I thought Poe was your roommate?”

Finn squeezed his eyes closed for a moment and then said “I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone that. If any of the faculty found out, they’d make us move rooms. And we’ve got a real good thing going on here. So don’t blow our cover.”

Rey rolled her eyes and smiled. “Your secret is safe with me. It’s the least I could do to thank you for helping me with my stuff.”

They were both out of breath by the time they reached the seventh floor. That was the most cardio Rey had done for a while. “So, peanut, what room is yours?”

“Peanut?” Rey gave him a look of confusion.

“Yeah. Peanut. That’s your nickname. At least my nickname for you. I have them for all of my friends.”

Rey beamed when he called her his friend. “Why Peanut, though?” She asked. “Is it just random or what?”

“Oh, I always have a reason. But I’m not gonna tell you right away. I gotta leave you in suspense for a little bit.”He smiled and looked over at her. “I’ll tell you when the time is right.”

“That’s… ominous.” Rey was definitely confused, but she brought her mind back to the current moment. “Anyways, my room is 707.”

“No way.” Finn looked like he was about to drop the box he was carrying he was so shocked. “That’s Rose’s room! She’s, like, my best friend! She mentioned that she was getting a new roommate, but I didn’t even consider that it would be you! You’re gonna love her, trust me!”

Finn practically dragged Rey to her room, spewing off facts about Rose. Her favorite food (chicken parm), her favorite color (yellow or a deep blue; it depends on her mood), and other things Rey was never going to be able to remember. 

Rey didn’t even get a chance to set her things down before she was wrapped into a hug by her new roommate, Rose. For somebody so small, she could give tight hugs.

“Oh my god, you must be Rey!” Rose said, letting Rey out of her grip. “I’ve been so excited for you to get here!” 

Rey smiled at her. “Hi! Finn was telling me all about you! I’m glad to finally meet you!” Rose’s energy was contagious; Rey already found herself more joyful just from being around her.

As they unpacked, Rey got to know Finn and Rose better. And Rey could immediately see why Finn and Rose were friends. They both loved to talk. Not that Rey was complaining, they both had really interesting stories about their time at Resistance High last year. An hour later, Rey found herself laughing right along with them.

Finn stayed to help Rey and Rose decorate their dorm. They hung lights and posters on the wall. Rey’s favorite part of the room was the loft beds; with the bed on top and a desk underneath. Their dorm was a little crowded, especially with all the stuff Rose brought; a mini fridge, a chair, and even a projector. She didn’t even want to know how Rose had managed to get all of it up seven flights of stairs. Rey didn’t really have too much to contribute. Besides her personal items, she only brought a lamp and a poster from her favorite mystery movie. Rey was sure that Rose probably wouldn’t want to hang it up, but instead she shared her love for the movie and cited the directors as one of her favorites.

Rose immediately began to hang it up, and Finn commented that he’d never seen it. “Are you kidding me, Finn? How have you never seen it? The twists are so crazy! Like there’s this one-”

“Well don’t spoil it for me!” Finn interrupted. “If you guys both think it’s that good, I’ll watch it at some point.”

“Finn, when you say you’ll watch something, you never do. And besides, I’d never let you borrow my copy.”

“Why not?” Finn asked with a fake gasp at the accusation.

“You remember when I lent you my copy of Indiana Jones, right? I’ve never seen a disc with so many scratches!”

Finn gave a defeated sigh. “Fine, you’ve got a point. How do you suppose I should watch it then?” 

“Well,” Rose began. “We don’t have classes for another two days, so we could have a movie night!”

“That actually sounds super fun! What do you think, peanut?” 

“Yeah, that would be cool.” Rey was way more excited then she let on. Considering she woke up this morning thinking that she would spend the entire year by herself, this was really a best case scenario.

“Great!” Rose said, beaming. “I’ll test the group chat and tell everyone to come over later. Oh! I’ll add you to it, Rey!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also follow me on twitter @JakkuFlowers


End file.
